The third time needs to be the charm for an All-Star team of 11- and 12-year-olds from the Manhattan Beach Little League who must win tonight (Wednesday, July 29) to continue advancing toward the Little League World Series in post-season play.

After losing 9-3 last night (Tuesday, July 28) to Sherman Oaks, the teams do battle again at 6 p.m. at Homer Briggs Field in Ontario, once again playing for the Sub Division championship. On Sunday (July 26), the MBLL team defeated Sherman Oaks 10-5. The winner of tonight's game advances to the Southern California Championship Series. The winner of that series goes to the Western Regional Tournament, whose victor secures a berth in the Little League World Series.

In the loss Tuesday night, MBLL's Kalani Rusher started the game, pitching well for two innings, with the score tied at 3 going into the bottom third inning. With bases loaded and no outs, Sherman Oaks scored 4 runs, taking a 7-3 lead. Sherman Oaks then added two more runs later in the game. Cole Brunner and Dylan Knowles were MBLL's other pitchers.

MBLL's bats were quieter than usual, amassing only six hits. The team did load the bases with two outs in the fourth inning but were unable to move anyone across the plate. "We did not get any breaks in this game both offensively and defensively," said Coach Anthony Wall. "Our bats were quiet in this game, so we were unable to put pressure on them (Sherman Oaks) to come back." 

The MBLL All-Stars team consists of

• Andrew Beserra
• Cole Brunner
• Caden Garvey
• Max Gordon
• Kyle Karros
• Dylan Knowles
• Connor Meidroth
• Parker Murray
• Anthony Powell
• Kalani Rusher
• Benjamin Scott
• Brian Stinson
• Jonah Storey
• Jake Wall

Todd Storey is team manager and coaches are Eric Karros, Bob Wymbs, and Anthony Wall.